Science ministry to host World Bank's first AI summit outside US

The science ministry said Monday it will co-host a Global AI and Digital Summit with the World Bank in Seoul from Oct. 19 to 22, the first AI and digital summit the lender has held outside the United States.

Minister-level representatives from about 50 countries, along with senior World Bank officials and delegates from international organizations including the International Telecommunication Union, are expected at the four-day event at the Grand Hyatt Seoul.

The ministry said it jointly organized the event to draw on the World Bank's development-cooperation experience and global network to share Korea's AI and digital technology and policy experience with the international community and to expand practical cooperation with developing countries.

The gathering opens Monday with a ministerial meeting co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon and World Bank Vice President Kim Sang-bu. Under the theme "From Ambition to Action," delegates will discuss widening digital inclusion and access, using AI to modernize public services, and building innovative AI and digital ecosystems, and are due to adopt a joint chair's statement.

The World Bank, which has 189 member countries, framed the summit around a labour-market question: as 1.2 million young people in developing countries enter the workforce over the next 10 to 15 years, how AI and digital technology can raise employment and productivity.

"We will actively cooperate with the international community so that the benefits of responsible AI use are shared evenly across humanity," Bae said. "I hope this event becomes a meaningful venue for cooperation and communication that turns our vision for a global AI basic society into practical action."

A policy forum and an exhibition of companies from Korea and abroad run Tuesday and Wednesday, and the final day is a study tour of Korean sites using AI and digital technology, including the Korea Water Resources Corporation and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital.

The ministry has convened digital ministerial meetings since 2005. Last year's meeting, held on the sidelines of APEC, drew 21 member economies; this year's has expanded to about 50 countries.

Second Vice Minister Ryu Je-myeong is scheduled to present Korean AI policy, including the "AI for All" initiative, at a high-level exchange session and dinner on Oct. 19. Finance Minister Lee Hyung-il will deliver opening remarks on Oct. 20, and Vice Interior Minister Kim Min-jae and Um Yeol, head of the ministry's AI policy office, will share policy experience on Oct. 21.